Rainy Saturday, rough beach waves in store for Staten Island

View full sizeLeslie and Michael, hurricanes far out in the Atlantic, will stir beach waves and produce rip currents on Staten Island beaches for the next few days. This image is from the National Hurricane Center.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After a humid 73-degree Friday night, Staten Islanders will wake to what seems sure to be a rainy Saturday.

The high temperature on Saturday will be about 88 degrees -- much like Friday.

But the 50 percent chance of daytime rain showers on Saturday will grow to a 70 percent chance of heavy rain overnight. The overnight low will be about 64 degrees.

Sunday will be about 10 degrees cooler and less humid. The high is expected to hit 78 degrees under mostly sunny skies.

Highs in the upper 70s and lows around 60 under sunny skies are predicted to linger at least through Tuesday.

Meanwhile, far out in the Atlantic, Hurricane Leslie has temporarily weakened to tropical-storm status. It's sustained winds have dropped to a still-impressive 70 miles per hour, but the nearly stationary storm is expected to regain strength as it passes east of Bermuda sometime Sunday night.

Even further east is Hurricane Michael, a 105 mph blow that will be on the same latitude as Staten Island by mid-day Tuesday as it heads to its eventual doom in the cold waters of the North Atlantic.

Leslie and Michael will continue to generate shore-pounding surf and rip currents along East Coast beaches for the next few days.

City officials warn beach visitors against unauthorized swimming. New York City beaches are officially closed and no lifeguards are on duty. Unguarded beaches are always dangerous for swimmers, and the uncertainties of storm-roiled surf makes them greatly more so.